Travel. Education. Fun. This is life in the military.

Living Overview

Living Overview

It may surprise you, but the Military allows for a balance between work and personal life. In fact, service members enjoy many opportunities to relax with their friends and family, including 30 days of paid vacation a year. In this section, learn about social life in the Military, housing, paying for college, health insurance, travel perks and more.

Our Today's Military overview pages show the various stages of a military career, from the joining process to training, working and taking advantage of military benefits. Continue your journey below.

Off-duty Activities

Off-duty Activities

From fitness to volunteering to intramural sports, how you spend your free time is up to you. Air Force Staff Sergeant Jose Guevara Cortez interviews service members to learn more about rewarding extracurricular activities.

Senior Airman Vanessa Powelldavis and Army Staff Sergeant Joshua Grether make new friends by playing intramural sports.View transcript

GUEVARA CORTEZ: My name is Jose Guevara Cortez and I’m an Air Force staff sergeant, stationed at Joint Base, San Antonio. I’m looking to find out what life in the military is really like and how it may be different than what you think. Today I’m going to meet up with two people who have made sports a big part of their lives. First I meet up on base with one of my colleagues in the dental field, Vanessa Powelldavis. Vanessa coaches a youth basketball team on the weekends. And from what I hear, she’s got some serious game on the court.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: Can you tell me a little bit about your transition, coming from California all the way to San Antonio?

POWELLDAVIS: I really like how Lackland is stationed in a big city, in San Antonio. There are so many things to do. Finding sports teams to get on is not hard. I just go into the gym and, you know, if I see people in there, just ask them if they know of any girls’ sports teams.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: Sure, yeah.

POWELLDAVIS: -- that’s how I kind of joined my first base team that I was on.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: I know you coached in California. What made you want to start coaching here, in San Antonio?

POWELLDAVIS: Yeah. I coach kids grades preschool to about sixth grade. And I teach them the fundamentals of basketball, so shooting, dribbling, passing, things like that -- that I just like how happy the kids get and that I’m able to teach them something that I love to do.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: After the game, we head downtown to meet up with Army Staff Sergeant Joshua Grether, also from Joint Base, San Antonio. He and Vanessa have a few things in common, with their love of sports, so I wanted to see how their stories might intersect.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: Thanks for meeting Vanessa and I, man. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? And you’re in the Army. We’re in the Air Force. Tell us about like what are some of the things that you do.

GRETHER: I get together with some of the guys that I’ve met at the gym and stuff. We meet once a week and play basketball.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: What else do you play? Do you play any other sport?

GRETHER: I played flag football for... There’s a San Antonio flag football league here.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: OK. Let’s hear...

GRETHER: And one of the guys that I met at the gym introduced me to the league.

GRETHER: Do you guys have post teams, like the Army? Like we have -- where pretty much you can try out for the post team. And they compete against other posts and stuff, around the area.

POWELLDAVIS: Oh, yeah.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: We do.

POWELLDAVIS: Like the base team. When I got stationed in Japan, they didn’t have a base team. It was an all‑‑ like ‑‑forces league. So we had Marines, Navy, Air Force.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: Everybody.

POWELLDAVIS: And there’s everybody on the team. And we kind of set all that like rivalry aside.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: Yeah, like I was telling Vanessa earlier that that’s kind of one of the benefits of, you know, having a sport in your life --

GRETHER: Yeah!

GUEVARA CORTEZ: -- that you can kind of make some friends, you know, and just meet up like that and have a good time.

GRETHER: Do you guys -- have you guys played flag football before? Or is this something you guys ever thought about?

GUEVARA CORTEZ: The next day, we all met up again, this time for some flag football. Joshua brought along some of his Army buddies and I had my squad from the Air Force. We used one of the sports fields located on base that are available for us to use whenever we need them.

GRETHER: I mean, for us, in the Army, man, l‑‑ you know, when you do PT together and then, you know, you do it four or five times a week, and to be able to go out and play some sports and stuff.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: Yeah, exactly.

GRETHER: -- once in a while kind of -- I think it brings your team together, in a way. A lot of people that I’ve talked to that’s had no ties to the military itself, they think that we’re like, 24/7, soldiers.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: Yeah.

GRETHER: And the perception, you know, should be thrown out the window. Us as soldiers, of course, we have to go through training, just like any other establishment. But it might be a little longer than some. But, you know, in the end, we still have our normal life, you can say, on our off-time. My son, he’s only one years old but, you know -- he only says a couple words but touchdown’s one of them. It’s good to have, you know, the family support and stuff.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: Absolutely.

GRETHER: And the whole like -- just the respect thing, man, when you guys are coming out with us and just giving us the outmost respect.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: Yeah, but, I mean, we’re all what we call sister services, you know.

GRETHER: Exactly!

GUEVARA CORTEZ: So we’re all in this thing together. It’s just different branches.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: After hearing so much from Vanessa and Joshua about playing sports and making friends, it was great to see that come to life on the field tonight, and I’m definitely looking forward to our next pickup game.

Airman First Class Abby Roetzel spends her weekends volunteering at a local animal shelter.View transcript

GUEVARA CORTEZ: My name is Jose Guevara Cortez and I’m an Air Force staff sergeant, stationed at Joint Base, San Antonio. I’m looking to find out what life in the military is really like and how it may be different than what you think. Today I’m going to meet up with Airman First Class Abby Roetzel, a pediatric medical technician who aspires to be a veterinarian. Instead of meeting up on base, though, Abby told me to come find her here, at the Animal Defense League, where she volunteers on the weekends. It’s not necessarily what you’d expect to see an Air Force airman doing, but the military encourages us to be leaders in our community. And that’s why I can’t wait to check it out.

ROETZEL: Hi!

GUEVARA CORTEZ: Hey! Nice to meet you. I’m Jose.

ROETZEL: Nice to meet you. I’m Abby. Welcome to the Animal Defense League. Do you want to take a look around?

GUEVARA CORTEZ: Yeah, please, please.

ROETZEL: All right

GUEVARA CORTEZ: Show me around. Oh, thank you.

ROETZEL: You’re welcome.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: Appreciate it.

ROETZEL: I think all the dogs in here are under at least 15 pounds. There’s tons more in here. This is my favorite. His name’s Deputy.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: Deputy?

ROETZEL: Yeah.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: Deputy, you live in Texas.

ROETZEL: Yeah.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: How you feel about that, Deputy?

GUEVARA CORTEZ: So we’re both in the military. Would you say there’s any similarities in being in the military and doing volunteer work that you do?

ROETZEL: I definitely think so. You know, it takes a certain person to join the military. That’s just something in itself. But someone who is in the military and volunteers and gives more of their time to people, or animals, I think it really sets yourself above the rest.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: So how do you find time to volunteer?

ROETZEL: Well, I only work Monday through Friday. And then I have weekends off. And I get really bored really easily. So I occupy my time very carefully. So on Saturdays or Sundays, I’ll come over here and volunteer for a few hours. This is going to be --

GUEVARA CORTEZ: Oh, my goodness!

ROETZEL: -- kitty Phat Camp.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: Phat Camp!

ROETZEL: This is for kitties that like eat too much.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: Now I see why they call it kitty Phat Camp.

ROETZEL: Yeah. We try and get them to move around, here, climb up these little steps, as much as we can. But it’s a struggle.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: With your job that you have right now and seeing yourself in the future as a veterinarian, what connections do you see with these two things?

ROETZEL: Well, I learn patient care, basically how to handle patients. I learn... For example, drawing blood on a human is probably a little similar to drawing blood on a dog. Because we all have veins. Simple things like that, that I think I could transfer over to the veterinary side. It’s kind of like a stepping stone.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: Now in your experience, would you say that the military has helped you become the person that you need to be to succeed in veterinary school?

ROETZEL: Without a doubt. In the medical field, I work with a lot of doctors, a lot of providers. They’ve shown me how you need to perform as a leader. I just watch them a lot. And I just take notes on how they act. And I want to be like that, when I’m in that position.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: So, Abby, what are some of the different things that you actually do, when you volunteer here?

ROETZEL: So with the dogs, you socialize them. That’s probably the biggest thing for me. When you see the really timid dogs, really scared dogs, that were maybe abused before and that don’t really like people, just socialize them, giving them the tools they need to be adopted. So what was your favorite thing that you saw today?

GUEVARA CORTEZ: Without a doubt, kitty Phat Camp.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: Because there’s -- I’ve just never heard of anything like that. And I have a cat that is kind of hefty. And she could benefit from some of the exercises or getting some of the food up high.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: Cute puppies aside, it’s amazing to see what a difference we can make in the community with a few hours of our free time. Abby definitely proved this to me today and I’m inspired to get out there and do something, myself.

Senior Airman Michael Stennis is a physical training leader who hosts fun workout sessions to help service members stay in shape.View transcript

GUEVARA CORTEZ: My name is Jose Guevara Cortez and I’m an Air Force staff sergeant, stationed at Joint Base, San Antonio. I’m looking to find out what life in the military is really like and how it may be different than what you think. Today I’m meeting up with Senior Airman Michael Stennis. We’re both physical training leaders, who help service members stay in shape. I hear Michael brings a lot of fun to his workouts, so I wanted to learn how fitness plays a role in his life.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: We’re both PTLs, Physical Training Leaders. Let’s talk about some of the things that we do to incorporate not only fitness but a little bit of fun and morale boosting to our flights.

STENNIS: One of my main things is just going around finding out what people do on their off time, when it comes to PT, and so people like -- “Oh, I do leg day.” “Well, what does leg day consist of?” Then I’m able to give them something that’s kind of like a little bit more aggressive. So you’re constantly going from this exercise to this exercise to this exercise. Never the same thing that we’re doing. Like, “What are we doing this week?” “Well, we did that last week,” I don’t ever get that.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: All right. So we kind of talked about fitness in the military. Right? We also kind of do a lot of stuff outside. Like look where we’re at right now. We’re in a beautiful park.

STENNIS: Being outdoors, it gives you that sense of freedom. Hearing birds chirping and things like that kind of puts your mind at ease.

STENNIS: You get -- yeah, get like --

GUEVARA CORTEZ: Yeah!

STENNIS: -- this sense of serenity, you know. I like doing stuff like that, because it kind of gives me time to focus on me as a person.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: Every base has its own fitness center we can visit whenever we want, so earlier in the day, I joined Michael for a workout at his gym.

M: Two.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: He got my heart pumping and I learned some new exercises I’ll add to my own PT program.

M1: All right. That’s...

M: Switch!

M1: And...

M2: That was good.

STENNIS: And we loved it!

M: Right!

M2: It hurts!

M: Yeah.

M2: That’s good.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: After you get off work, what are some of the things that you choose to do for fun?

STENNIS: Last year, for a week, my brother came to see me during spring break. He stayed on base and everything like that. Play basketball together, work out. We go to the movies, go laser-tagging. One of the things that I get, especially from like family members and stuff like that, they always ask you, “What is it like? What is it like?” And it’s just like any other job. You got a time where you’re supposed to be there.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: Sure.

STENNIS: You got a time that you’re supposed to be off.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: Oh, yeah.

STENNIS: But I had MTIs and everything telling me that when I was going through basic, it’s totally different. You got to get through this certain portion of your career, of course, because everyone else had to do it. But once you finish that and you get out there, you’re able to live life the way that you want to live it.

GUEVARA CORTEZ: From working out at the gym to trail runs to everything in between, you can see the way we stay in shape is far from the stereotypical formations and screaming drill sergeants. While we still have to pass an annual fitness test, how we prepare for the test is really up to us. And there are so many ways to make that happen.

M: Oh!

Senior Airman Vanessa Powelldavis and Army Staff Sergeant Joshua Grether make new friends by playing intramural sports.

Airman First Class Abby Roetzel spends her weekends volunteering at a local animal shelter.

Senior Airman Michael Stennis is a physical training leader who hosts fun workout sessions to help service members stay in shape.

What are Social Life & Housing Like?

Family & Social Life

Family & Social Life

Service members get to live out their passion at work and build strong relationships with family and friends. And with the wide range of recreational on-base amenities and expanding support programs like child care, financial guidance, affordable housing and more, service members have the resources to care for their families and enjoy life.

Military Housing

Military Housing

Many factors come into play when determining housing for a military service member. Some of these include where a service member is stationed, whether they’re an active-duty member, Guardsmen or reservist and if they have a spouse or kids. Plus, qualified service members can live off base in civilian neighborhoods using an allowance they receive for housing.

What benefits do service members get?

Beyond their salary, service members enjoy an exceptional quality of life while serving. Benefits include full medical coverage, tuition support and discounts at Military shopping centers. Explore these benefits below.

Paying for College

The Military offers multiple programs for helping service members receive a college education. They can be used both during and after service.

Discounts & Perks

Service members can shop for groceries and personal goods at on-base exchanges, which offer deep discounts on the same products and services you'd find at a civilian store. There are also a wide variety of free on-base activities, such as gyms, sports leagues and parks. On-base entertainment also includes movie theaters, bowling alleys and visiting musicians.

World Bases & Travel

Service members receive 30 days of paid vacation each year, and the Military offers free travel on military aircraft for off-duty excursions depending on availability. Traveling personnel can stay for free at bases located in multiple countries outside the U.S. and use amenities such as outdoor parks and swimming pools.

Further Exploration

Narrator: What does it mean to live a Military life? It means whatever you make of it. It means plenty of free time with friends and family that's relaxing, or energizing. It means knowing that time was earned doing something that matters.

Because the Military understands that throughout our lives, it's the good times we share with family and friends — the people we care about the most — we remember best. The bonds you form here will last a lifetime — ­­camaraderie is an essential part of service.

And it's not just about “how” you live, but “where.” In the U.S., you can be stationed in places like California, Colorado and Hawaii. Then there are the 16 countries across the world where the Military has bases.

We also know making a good living is an important part of any life. Hard work is rewarded, with direct career advancements. It's a clear process with great results. Then there's the benefits beyond your paycheck, like paying for college. It all comes down to getting exactly what you want out of life.

So what does it mean to live in the Military? It's up to you to decide.